12/31/19 New York City
Watching the webcast of this one
Set 1 -
Martian Monster - Definitely not an expected opener, imo, but dang if it
doesn't get us raging right off the bat! Very fun and gets the party
vibe going. Wonderfully fluid playing from Trey - like butter. Backwards
guitar and all 
Not exactly must-hear, but an interesting opening choice that was well done.
>Buried Alive - The ultimate opener for me. Makes no sense
having it in the 2nd spot ala 12/8/19 but whatever. You know what
though?! Somehow they actually segued from MM into this - and it worked! Alright, let's get it guys! Awesome! Again, not list-worthy but a fine rendition.
AC/DC Bag - Great, standard Bag. Nothing to mention, just delivers like expected!
Halley's Comet - Fantastic! About 11 minutes long. This is really where the fun begins. The first three songs were great but were the warmup
Gotta say the lighting is really adding a lot - lots of dark purples
and yellows give it a really great vibe. The jam is pretty dark and
funky for a while and then slowly turns into Bliss Peak. So smoothly
though! The guys just Guitar Hero this jam. Type I excellence of the
best kind!!! Great Halley's Comet! Eventually the Bliss returns to the
dark funk and we are in Type II ville.
>Prince Caspian - Not sure if that counts as a ripcord or a segue!
One second they were in HC and the next beat it just immediately became
Caspian. Worked better than expected. You could hear the Halley's jam
dying off, so it's ok. Tons of energy on this one - OOOOHHHHH TO BE PRINCE CASPIAN!!!! cue bright white lights and the whole room exploding, lol Some cool feedback playing from Trey on this. Very nice. Gordo even gets some solo action in.
>Sparkle - Just as Caspian was starting to cook they jump into
Sparkle. Sparkle is Sparkle, but it is pretty funny see a near-moshpit
in the crowd 
>Axilla II - Great set choice! DON'T SHINE THAT
THING IN MY FACE MAN!!!! YES!!! STOP HITTING ME IN THE HEAD WITH THAT
PAN! YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF! I'M SERIOUS!!!
Zamfir Story - A continuation of the pan story, lmao. Only Phish
Holy hell the laughing samples from Fishman lololol. And then they summon Zamfir onto the stage...holy hell my sides 
>Maze - Slighty abstract version on Trey's front. He pretty
much holds off on shredding, preferring to slash chords instead, but
that just means Page gets more time to shine. I hate that Trey can't
shred a Maze like he used to, but for a "new age" 2019 Maze, this one is
uniquely good, imo. Definitely worth a listen.
Fluffhead - Performed pretty flawlessly for the most part on all
fronts, this excellent Fluff is made even better when you see all the
shots of Kuroda syncing the lights with the technical music. Awesome
stuff. Great Fluff!!!
Rise/Come Together - Wow!! Yes, I said wow! This one hits hard
and really pulls the set together to close with a bang. Move over
"More"!!! There's a new set closer on the block!
That whole pre chorus section of the song just hits big time on this
one. I'm a part of you and you're a part of me, etc - everyone in the
room uniting as one giant rock and roll family. THIS THING SMOKES!!! Really great closer for the set, imo
All in all, a very fine first set. Very "Jukebox Phish" as people
will say, but that's fine sometimes! Halley's went deep for a bit and
Caspian almost made it there. Fluffhead raged and Rise/Come Together
tore it down hard. A strong set but not a classic. No major complaints
here - a perfect kind of warmup
Set 2
Punch You In the Eye - Yes! My favorite song and opener! Holy crap that light show.... Thankfully
they come out strong and hard with this one. Nothing kills the vibe
worse than a friggin' limp-wristed PYITE (you know the kind I'm talking
about). If it ain't hot, it's a waste. For a 2019 rendition this one
brings a good amount of heat. YES! GET IT TREY! HE NAILED THE LANDLADY SECTION! THIS PUNCH IS A KEEPER! This
is not flawless, but hot dang if it's not the best late-3.0 Punch I've
heard in who knows how long. Thank you Icculus for blessing us with a
GOOD Punch to open the 2nd set!
Wolfman's Brother - Someone gets lost and Wolfman has a
trainwreck, lol. It doesn't come off the rails but there is massive
confusion for a solid 10 seconds at one point. A really, really groovy
and chill funk jam follows the song as expected. Man, oh man, the lights
really add so much to this. Almost like the band and CK5 are jamming
against each other, each one pushing the other. God this thing is a PARTY! If
I was just listening I might think less of it, but watching the
video...the whole place is just full on in sync. The band, the lights,
the crowd....the vibe, man! Terrific little Wolfy!
>Light - Not my pick for next song (awful segue), but I love
the song so I'll take it. Ironically, off the bat, Light gets dark.
Immediately we drop into some dark Type I.5 areas. This quickly morphs
back into the expected, well, light. Very smooth transitioning from
section to section. Mellow and grooving. The whole time Trey is staring
off into space and the band is riding this Type I feel. They never take
it off the deep end, content to just enjoy the basis the song has given
them, like a good Grateful Dead jam or something. Oh, but wait, there's
more! Page starts to stab at his THX synths and the mood goes dark
again. Yea, it's Type II time! Funky dark dance party grooving. But Trey
won't commit and is determined to keep it uplifting, spamming major
chords when the rest of the jam wants things to go minor. He leads us
back to the brightness and while we are still in Type II, things are
definitely heading in a more beach-party, NICU kinda way. Soon Page
jumps back onto his rock and roll piano, abandoning the synth. This
returns things to a classic Type I Light bliss jam again. Totally just
rocking good now. Very upbeat, lovely piano and Trey just spamming
little rhythmic phrases throughout. Really loving the piano - that
Stonesy kinda classic rock thing. AWESOME. They are killing it! Trey is
still staring at the sky, totalling IN THE ZONE, just killin' with a
vengeance. All in all, this Light was very unsure of what direction
to choose and ended up kinda being a little, excuses the pun,
lightweight by the end, but they really gave it the ol' college try.
Worth a listen.
>Twist - Beastly little Twist. Gordo is definitely the MVP
here. Trey lays back throughout and Cactus picks up the slack, just
laying it down thick and dark and groovy. If you like Mike you need this
in your life. Solo Gordon Twist This Twist rages HARD and there is barely any Trey in it! For
3/4 of it, Trey is just playing rhythm, letting everyone else take the
reigns. But then near the end he introduces a cool hard rock kind of
ascending guitar lick the the other latch onto and the thing reaches a
red-hot climax. FANTASTIC TWIST! MUST HEAR! HOTTEST TWIST EVER?! I
mean, they freaking go rock god destructo mode on this sucker, just
melting faces and stomping everything in their path to dust. And then Trey reintroduces the theme and this MONSTER comes to a perfect conclusion. Good lord, man.
>Soul Planet - Fantastic stuff. Once the song ends and Trey
hits that stuttering delay that usually signals an upbeat rock jam,
instead he hits it lightly and the guys drop into an extremely funky
Moma Dance type of jam. Totally unexpected by me. Gordo is still tearing
it up, while Trey is playing with delays and effects, layering a cool
soundscape for the others to play over. Some really cool stuff going on
in this jam. Everyone is jamming together as one and it's just got it
going ON! At one point the guys bring the playing down to a whisper. The
darkly aquatic ambiance starts to seep in, Gordo busting out the
power drill! BUT DAMMIT THEY KILL IT RIGHT THERE! SON OF A B! WHY! WHY!
YOU WERE POISED FOR LIFTOFF AND INSTEAD JUST....STOPPED! NO!! SCREW YOU
GUYS!! 
UGH!!!
>Mercury - At least they make up for it by going into Mercury, my favorite song (along with 20 others ). If you're gonna ripcord at least go into a song I like!
Thankfully, the song portion is one of the best performed versions I've
heard. No slop here and the tempo is sprightly. The jam goes and Trey
is still just playing rhythm master for a while. Excellent Type I
ensues, and if I was looking for an "album ready" version to put on a
faux studio release, this one would totally take the cake. And then it
ends! Kinda disappointing....
>Possum - Glowsticks! Glowsticks everywhere!!! Pretty funny,
Gordo is totally into the vocals. Get it Page! Great piano from him.
Overall a ripping Possum to end a pretty good-if-uneven set.
All in all, this set was MOSTLY top notch. There were some VERY
unfortunate ripcord moments and Trey seemed lost in the jams at times,
but for the most part it was excellent. Very difficult set to try to
recap. A lot was fantastic, but there were some head-scratcher choices
here and there.
Set 3 - Clone costume
Send In the Clones - JAZZ BALLADS A CAPELLA Send in the clones, holy hell this is amazing. Gotta grin on my face, haha.
First Tube - And on to the descended risers they go... And the
clones take the stage as the risers ascend! Is this not one of the
friggin' coolest gags ever or what? Gotta love the choreography and the wigs Reminds me of marching band I don't know what is going on but I can't wipe this grin off my face...
Lmao the band look terrified to move on their risers - can't say I blame them! Good golly this is just so much stupid fun!! "SEND IN THE CLOOOONNNEEESSSS!!!!" And to top it off, the First Tube is pretty dang excellent anyways! Talk about a kickoff to a set!!!
Auld Lang Syne - Is ALS (talk about unfortunate letters, eh?). Lots of balloons and cheering etc etc etc
>Sand - Ah yea, let's get it boys and girls! Dance party time! CLONE VOCALS. CLONE VOCALS EVERYWHERE! The
platform choreography begins and Trey's platform immediately gets
stuck, lol. Sorry Mike, Trey ain't raisin up to meet you! Pretty funny,
the 3 guys are down low and Mike is just way up by the ceiling by his
lonesome, lol. Musically, things are in murky dark-Sand land with Trey
leaning hard on his gritty wah for a while before giving us some
standard rock licks. The guys keep it in pretty standard Type I with
Trey churning out more hot licks, though at the same time seeming
appropriately hesitant - you can see him looking around like "wtf is
going on with my platform", lol. Props to him for not really letting it
affect his playing! After a while things start to peak and the clones
end up on some platforms, vocalizing along to the jam. Incredibly
freaking cool stuff. This is weird as hell, but at least it's something
interesting to look at!!!
At this point the song finishes and Trey is stuck in the air with the
other 3 on the ground. There is a lengthy break, presumably to figure
stuff out. Some funny banter between the band and the crowd follows with
Trey leaning down a lot, holding on for dear life. As Fishman says
though "don't worry - Death Don't Hurt Very Long!" Eventually Trey says
"I'm goin for it" and decides to continue on while hanging in midair.
And the show must go on!
Drift While You're Sleeping - Definitely not what I expected in this
slot, but let's see what happens! All the clones are asleep and then
gradually wake up, adding vocals and whatnot. It actually sounds
fantastic with them all harmonizing together!!! Cool! "Down the stream you ride - down down down".... Those
background vocals really sound great on this. Wow. Then when we get to
the calypso section all the clones get their "light oars" and start
sailing on the platform risers. From there it is on to lightsaber/flag
girl choreography with the light sticks.
At this point the rest of the band has resumed their platform
theatrics, moving up and down either side of the stationary Trey. Once
the reggae section begins, more cool lightstick movement occurs, the
clones forming a moving wave among other things. This is awesome. I
don't care how dad-rock this song is, you can't knock the sentiment - "and love will carry us through!". This
song gives me chills every time and these soulful gospel vocals by the
clones just push this one over the edge. Absolutely fantastic. I've got
goosebumps on my arms....and you know what, the climax of the song with
Trey going nuts soloing like his life depends on it seems all the more
special with him being the only one in the air at that point - It's like, all eyes on Trey, just tearing it up in the sky!!!
"WE MOOOOVVVEEEE THROUGH STORMY WEAAAAATTTHHHEEERRRR!!!"
Ahhh, chills, man, for real....
I freaking love this band.
What's The Use - Interesting choice after Drift! I never would've
called that. WTU is just WTU (though of course there is lots of cool
ambience) but I'm assuming this was used as a "break" spot for the clone
dancers who sit this number out. I mean, they aren't absent - they are
using cool mirrors to move beams of light around the arena in a
choreographed manner. But it's not like they are running around, lol.
Freaking gorgeous as all hell though.
You Enjoy Myself - Rough/hesitant start to this, evening
requiring a total restart. That's ok though. Trey is seen throughout
crouched on his platform trying to listen to his monitor. Cool moment
when Page plays an extended note and Trey turns the microphone around
trying, kinda successfully, to get everyone in the building to harmonize
with it. Awesome bit of crowd interaction!!! Very Zappa. As the instrumental portion of the song continues, the clones leave the stage and all eyes are on the band. When they reach that part, Trey stands up from his crouched position and aboslutely NAILS
that screaming sustained note. KILLER PEAK, YO!!! From here the clones
return to the stage and join in on all the vocals. Trey is having an
absolute blast, grinning like there is no tomorrow.
AND THEN COME THE TRAMPOLINES!
Ah yea, clones on 'lines, here we gooooooooo....
This is so hilariously stupid in the best way, lol. All the clones
cheering each other on as they do their trampoline rotations....
...and suddenly they are gone again....
From here the guys bust into jam mode and Trey just rips it up for a few
glorious minutes. Fantastic. The clones return to the stage and Gordo
spurs them on with some absolutely glorious bass soloing. GET IT, CACTUS!!!
Then the vocal jam begins and it sounds like a bunch of Sims all trying
to talk to each other, lol. Kinda creepy in a way. An insane
gospel-from-hell vocal raveup follows, eventually culmination in a chant
of "We are your clones! Happy New Years!"
Wow, what can you say? That was definitely a YEM for the classics book imo!!!
Tweeprise - Trey says we are in the air and stuck here until next year, so encore time it is It's Tweeprise at the end of an insane NYE set. Yea, it's sick.
Rescue Squad - C'mon guys, this ain't a song. Get over it. Trey was stuck. It did not happen on purpose. Why is this even listed on .NET....
All in all....wowzers! What a set! If you just listen to this you
will likely be disappointed - this needs to be seen to properly
appreciate it. If you judge this without having watched it, I refuse to
acknowledge your review, lol Incredibly cool set. As for the whole show,
it was a mixed bag, but overall very good and sometimes awesome. It's a
New Years show so I can forgive some hesitancy (occupied minds) and
whatnot. This show should definitely go down in the annals of great NYE
gigs though - that 3rd set was freaking awesome.....fantastic end to a
great year of Phish!!!!
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